CON​CERT BAND

MALLEUS

The term “Malleus” has multiple meanings in the english language. From an anatomical standpoint, it is the outermost of the chain of three ossicles in the middle ear of a mammal consisting of a head, neck, short process, long process, and handle with the short process and handle being fastened to the tympanic membrane (ear drum) and the head articulating with the head of the incus (I definitely had to look this up on Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary; no shame at all). From what I understand, the malleus helps to transmit sounds from the outer world to the inner ear.

Second, the word is latin for the word ‘hammer’ or ‘mallet’.

With both of these ideas in mind, I thought that Malleus would be the perfect title for this rhythmically driven work that contains a lengthy feature for the percussion section in the middle. Using a wide variety of hammers and mallets is just what us percussionists do (I’m a percussionist by trade), and transmitting these sounds to the ears of the musicians, as well as the audience, ties this whole piece together!

Malleus is dedicated to Katie Codina and the students of the Central Middle School Band in Gonzales, LA!

(Note: the audio file was created using Finale's playback software; full recording coming later!)